An Honest Depiction of Being Young and Black in America

Funded Mar 30, 2023

Punching the Air was a novel written in prose that took my students by surprise. The writing style was different from anything that they had encountered before. However, the biggest impact was the underlying message that the author was trying to convey which was how one decision can affect the rest of your life depending on the way you look. My students read each day and oftentimes would ask if they could continue reading beyond the assigned pages. They wanted to find out what was going to happen to Amal. The experiences he had to deal with led to some interesting classroom discussions and debates about racism and prejudice.

One student, a normally unengaged adolescent, was fully devoted to reading the book as a similar experience had happened to a cousin of his. He was able to connect to the text more deeply than other students and often came to visit during lunch to discuss his thoughts and similar connections. The concept of white privilege was brought up and led to another discussion. The associate principal was amazed at the engagement and the care that the students took of the novels as if they were their own property.

As students interacted with the novel, they began to question the juvenile detention system. This sparked the idea for them to research the effectiveness of juvenile detention centers in Massachusetts and to compose a research paper defending, whether or not, juvenile detention centers help or hinder the future of young people of color who commit crimes. In the process, they learned about MLA formatting and used the novel as well as other sources within their papers.

The whole experience with the novel allowed my class to come together as a family and to really think about the decisions that they make and the impact they can have on their future. It also made them open their eyes to the fact that the way you look can spark different reactions from people. Saying thank you to the donors for allowing my students to have this experience does not seem like enough. My appreciation and gratitude with be felt for many years as I share Punching the Air with my future students as well.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Callahan